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We recommend that in future purchases, adulterants soluble in 
water (alcohol, acetone, and such like) should also be looked for, by 
strongly shaking the oil to be examined with an equal volume of water 
in a graduated tube. In the presence of adulterants soluble in water, 
a corresponding increase in the layer of water occurs, whilst otherwise 
no change in the proportions of the volume takes place. 
Clove Oil. In order to be able to form some opinion on the 
enormously high quotations of Zanzibar cloves, such as have not been 
known for many years, and to decide in how far this is due to the 
failure of the harvest, and how far to speculation, we here reproduce 
an annual report from the German Consulate at Zanzibar: 
In the course of the year 1902/03 ending on 31 st August, the total quantity 
of cloves gathered in Zanzibar came to 112 354 bales of 4 frasileh^) each, or 
a total weight of 15 729560 lbs. This harvest must therefore be considered 
as the most profuse one among those of the last few years, the latter being 
1 899/1 900 = 88847 1 5 lbs.; 1900/01 =9486225 lbs.; and 1901/02 = 1 1 510975 lbs. 
Of the harvest of 1902/03 (and 1901/02) the island of Zanzibar accounts for 
6373500 (1384775) lbs., and Pemba for 9356060 (10 126 200) lbs. It follows 
that the island of Zanzibar shares in last year's harvest in the ratio of i in 
1,46, whilst the proportion during the three preceding years was i : 3,6, i : 5,8, 
and I : 7,3. The cause of this growing increase in the production must be 
attributed to the fact that on the island of Zanzibar the Government does all in 
its power to overcome the lack of labour, which is here considerably greater 
than on the island of Pemba. 
The prices obtained for cloves in Zanzibar were in the period September 1902 
to May 1903, 6 to 7 rupees per frasileh; they then advanced up to 8 rupees, 
in view of the expected failure of the harvest, but fell again when the Indian 
market did not follow suit. In the last few days of September 1903, the demand 
from India became especially strong, and this caused the price to advance within 
2 days up to 17V2 rupees, but it fell again to lo^/g rupees, only to advance 
once more briskly in the first few days of October, up to above 14 rupees. 
The price of Zanzibar cloves is usually 4 annas ^) higher than that of the 
Pemba cloves, because the former as a rule are better dried and treated with 
greater care. 
The export of cloves from Zanzibar amounted in the year 1902 to 
10 125 769 lbs. value 2 957 589 rupees, against 1 1 962 069 lbs. and 2465 373 rupees 
in the previous year. Of last year's export, 4160485 lbs. value 852006 rupees 
went to Europe, 412300 lbs. value 88031 rupees to America, 5412 143 lbs. 
value I 091 456 rupees to Asia, and 140841 lbs. value 26096 rupees to Africa. 
The export to America is shipped exclusively to New York, that to Asia 
almost exclusively to Bombay. The latter amounted to 4924255 lbs. value 
996820 rupees, and the Bombay market consequently drew about one-half of 
the total exports. This had the effect, that the prices of the European market 
generally remained firm, in spite of the fairly large harvest of that year. In 
February 1903 a downward tendency in the quotations became apparent, but 
it came to an immediate stop when Bombay showed itself capable of taking 
further deliveries. The exports shipped to Bombay apparently only serve for 
the Indian home requirements. 
^) Frasileh =35 lbs. 
^) I Rupee =16 annas. 
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